Overalls



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I JOSEPH WAHL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

OVERALLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 275,441, dated April10, 1883.

Application filed February 7,1883. (No model.)

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH WAHL. a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Overalls; and I herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame.

One of the chief difficulties encountered by manufacturers and dealersin supplying the trade with overalls is the great variety required inthe matter of waist measurements, owing to the inadequacy of the meanshitherto employed for graduating the size of the garment at that point.This difficulty not only works a disadvantage to the manufacturer byrequiring him to provide a large number of different sizes, and t0 thedealer by requiring him tolkeep various sizes on hand, some of which maynever be called for, but it is also a matter of much inconvenience tothe ultimate purchaser, who often finds it impossible to obtain aproperly-fitting garment without vexatious delay, and perhaps additionalexpense.

The object of my invention is to overcome the above difficulty byproviding the garment with an adjusting device at the waist, of suchscope as to admitofits being fitted to any waist, (provided of coursethat the latter be not too large for the garment to encompass,) and soeasily operated as to give no trouble to the user.-

To these ends my invention consists in providing a pantaloon garmentwith two straps, (which may be of the same fabric as the garmentitself,) secured to the waist, one toward each side, with a view tobeing passed around the back, and one of the straps having a suitableopening in it for the passage through it of the other, and combiningwith these features means for attaching the straps to the front portionof the waist at the adjacent sides of the front opening, with a tensionsuited to the requirement.

It consists, also, in the particular construction which,foreffectiveness and economy, I prefer to employ as to the waistband andstraps, in combination with an adjustable fastening device at the-front;and, also, in the particular construction which, for like reasons, Iprefer to employ as to the adjustable fastening device at the front, incombination with the two straps attached to the waist and passin gincontrary directions around the back, all as hereinafter more fully setforth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front view, and Fig. 2 arear view, of the upper portion of a pantaloon garment provided with myimprovements.

A is the waist portion of the garment, and B B the two straps,preferably secured there- 'to at about the points a, though these pointsmay vary (especially by being brought farther around toward the rear)without affecting the general nature of the invention. The strap B isprovided with an opening, u, at a point within convenient reach of thewearer, for the passage of the strap B, which opening I prefer to formof an interposed wire link, as shown, though a transverse slit, like abutton-hole, may be used instead, if desired. While any convenientmethod maybe adopted for attaching these straps to the garment, the onerepresented'in the drawings is recommended as, in my opinion, thesimplest and most practical that can be devised. In this the waistbandC, instead of extending entirely around the garment, as is generally thecase, extends only across the front, being sewed thereto asfar as thepoints a, and being continued into the straps B and B from that pointonward. This strengthens that part of the waist which alone is subjectedto strain when in use. The back, which is relieved from all strain bythe operation of the straps, is of only one thickness begarment areprovided with means for attaching the two together, and at the same timeallowing the tension of the straps to be graduated to any requireddegree, thus enlarging or contracting the garment at the waist, ascircumstances may require; For the purpose of this adjustment,various'contrivances might be adopted, all more or less eifective. Forexample, the end of each strap might be provided with a button on theinside, and the front of the waist with a series of button-holes on eachside of the front opening; or (though this is less desirable) eachstrap, toward its outer end,

might be provided with a series of buttonholes, and the margin of thegarment with a button on each side of the front opening, at somedistance therefrom; but the way which I prefer, as the simplest,cheapest, andmost effective of all, is to provide the end of each strapwith a hook, I, and the front of the garment, at the upper margin, witha series of metal eyelets, s, on each side of the front opening,sufficient in number to admit of a considerable range in the adjustmentof the garment, all as shown in the drawings. After putting on thegarment the ends of the straps B and B are brought around to the front,as represented in the drawings, and the hooks t inserted in such of theeyelets s as afford the required degree of tightness. This throws thestrain partly upon the straps B and B and partly upon the front, whichlatter, as before stated, is re-enforced by the band C. The back gatherstogether between the points a to conform to the person of the wearer,and thus sustains no strain.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that with myimprovements the number of different waist measurements in overalls maybe reduced to two or three general sizes, while at the same time theconvenience of the garment and comfort of the wearer are increased.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a pantaloon garment, the straps B and B, secured to the waisttoward the sides thereof, the strap 13 having an opening, a, for thepassage of the strap B when the two are passed in contrary directionsaround the back of the garment, as shown, in combination with means,substantially as described, for attaching each strap to the front of thewaist at the adjacent side of the front opening, and forregulating thetension of the straps, as set forth.

2. In a pantaloon garment, the band (J, sewed to the front margin of thewaist, and terminating at or near the sides, and prolonged into straps Band B, the strap 13 having an opening, a, for the passage of the strapB, in combination with means, substantially as described, for attachingeach strap to the front of the waist at the adjacent side of the frontopening, and for regulating the tension of the straps, as set forth.

3. In a pantaloon garment, the straps B and B, secured to the waisttoward the sides thereof, the strap B having an opening, 14, for thepassage of the strap B when the two are passed in contrary directionsaround the back of the garment, as shown, in combination with the hook tupon the ends of the straps, and the eyelets s on each side of the frontopening, substantially as described.

JOSEPH WAHL. In presence of WM. H. DYRENFORTH, EPHRAIM BANNING.

